Vera F (Harris) Calvin

Vera F. Harris Calvin, a local community leader, passed away Wednesday evening 2/16 in Burleson, TX.  Vera Frances Harris Calvin was born November 25, 1928, in Elmo, TX. She was the eldest of four children born to Fred and Minnie Clemmons Harris. She married Stacy A. Calvin on June 20, 1947, in Terrell and two daughters were born to this union. They moved to Burleson in 1957.

Vera believed education was important, she graduated from Terrell High School in 1946 and Johnson County LVN school in 1967.  She earned an Associate Degree in Nursing from Tarrant County Junior College in 1974 and her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration from East Texas State University in 1984. She believed a person was never too old to seek and attain an education if they so desired.

Vera and her late husband were active in the schools and local politics and were members of the First United Methodist Church of Burleson. She was an LVN and then RN at the Fort Worth State School until she retired in 1994. She served nine years on Burleson City Council and was the first and only female Mayor of Burleson from 1988 to 1992.  She served 1995 to 1996 as Justice of the Peace of Precinct 2 in Johnson County. She was a lifetime member of the Burleson Chamber of Commerce, was Director for two terms, and was Citizen of the Year in 1993. She was a lifetime member of the Rebekah Lodge and a member of the Burleson BPW organization. She was a member of the Burleson Historic Society, Eumathian Club, and the Athena Society of Burleson. She received many awards and honors from these and other organizations. The Burleson City Council honored her by naming the “Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza” in Old Town and she attended the dedication in May 2021, she was very proud of this honor.

Vera loved her family and enjoyed traveling with them or her friends. She loved to laugh and hummed or whistled as she went about her daily work. She was preceded in death by her husband Stacy in 1993 and her daughter Stacey Lynn Clopton in 2002.

Vera is survived by her daughter Carol Curlee and husband Larry of Joshua; grandson David Curlee of Kopperl; grandson Greg Curlee and wife Kim of Lubbock; granddaughter Marcy Hicks and husband Trevor or Buda; grandson Bryan Clopton and wife Meagan of Plano; brother Travis Harris of Dallas; brother Raymond Harris of Dallas; sister Bethel Burns of Temple; great-grandchildren; Jessie Curlee Hawkins and husband Michael of Kopperl; Stacey Curlee of Kopperl; Dylan Hicks of Buda; Abby Curlee of Lubbock; Ashlyn Hicks of Buda; Kate Clopton of Plano and Bodhi Clopton of Plano; great-great-grandson Carter Hawkins of Kopperl; son-in-law Paul Clopton of Lafayette, LA along with several nieces and nephews who all loved her dearly.

Vera's family would like to thank Heritage Place Assisted Living and St. Gabriel Hospice for their dedicated care.